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Sovereign Company of the Dragon
The Sovereign Company of the Dragon was an immensely powerful organisation in Daolin under the Yuhai Dynasty, and remains influential in the region under their Beygul overlords. Under the Fang Hai System, the emperor and the nobility only directly ruled the lands within the walls of the Hai region. The emperor granted the right to use the rest of the nation's land to this Sovereign Company, which in turn granted the land (along with its serfs) to successful members. In exchange they were to gift their best workers to the nobility within the Hai. This system supplied the nobility within the walls with a reliable source of good workers to act as servants and for manual labour, while the company gained sheer numbers of workers to use. They also used the crops produced on their lands to trade, and gave a portion of the profits to the imperial court. However they only reached their peak under the Fang Dao system. The Supreme Governor of the Sovereign Company of the Dragon signed an agreement with the emperor, giving the company the power to wage war, convict criminals, negotiate treaties, establish colonies, levy taxes and establish embassies. In addition, the imperial court loaned the company 500 ships of the imperial fleet for use by the company. They quickly and violently wrestled control of trade in the west from the hands of other states, such as Maiyon and Sahkora. Cloves and pepper from Sebandar, silver from Sahkora, ropes and fibres from Tajala, and cotton from Sunghala came under their control. Using advanced Daolese maritime technology, they explored the lands to the south and established colonies and trading posts on Hamaji. The hub of their Hamajin trading network was Gaohra, which rose to become one of the wealthiest cities in the world. From there they gained access to the wealth of the Hukuri City-states. Here they exchanged their goods for the glass, furs, ceramics, timber, spices and slaves of the cities. The company's influence reached as far north as the island of Qunik, where they established the town of Rhoudao to link their furs to the trade network. Another major trading hub was Sebandar, which was a major stopover between Gaohra and Daolin. It was originally wealthy due to cloves and pepper growing on the island, but eventually it became a centre of banking instead. Traders would insure their ships at their safe port, and it would finance missions between Daolin and its colonies. Its island location and strong defences also meant it was considered a safe location to store wealth. Today the city-state of Sebandar controls the largest bank in the west, and large nations (Sahkora, Beygir) as well as many private citizens are heavily indebted to them. Unlike the highborn colonisers of other nations, the private Daolese traders enjoyed the cooperation of the native populations in the early years. They considered themselves equal to the natives, and cooperated with them peacefully. However as they grew in wealth, their fleets grew and brought violence and subjugation. By securing their trading posts through bloodshed, they became the wealthier than nations. Most goods were traded through Gaohra, but the most valuable goods were sold in the Hai region. With this new oppulence and wealth, Daolin entered a golden era of art and science. Citizens in the Hai often invested in shares of the company, acting as patrons and sponsors of their trade missions. From this new wealth, most of the city of the Haikei was rebuilt. The manor houses and canals of the city centre were built from the Sovereign Company's capital. Most notably the Red Canal is the most prestigious region of the city (outside the palace), and houses the bourse. In the bourse people invest in shares of different trade missions and estimate the future values of the commodities traded. Sciences flourished also, with the invention of gunpowder and improvements to canal technology. However the Sovereign Company of the Dragon lost much of its power during the Daolese civil war. With the Edun dynasty and the Tianshi dynasty both vying for control of Daolin as a whole, the Yuhai had their trade routes strangled and their wealth severely reduced. Though the Yuhai dynasty had the strongest fleet, and the Sovereign Company had yet another fleet to match, their ships were scattered across the world. The Tianshi dynasty formed an alliance with Maiyon, and chased down and captured many of the ships. Only when the Yuhai merged with the Edun did they see profits returning, but their colonies were forever lost. After Daolin fell to the Beygir Empire, the company has seen an resurgence in profits. With free movement throughout the continent-spanning empire, they have branches as far west as Batil. Although without their colonial possessions they could never recapture their old glory, they returned to some degree of prominence and influence.